How to Extend Regular Acrylics' Working Time

Golden's Open Acrylic Medium

Those of you who read my blog regularly know I'm always looking for ways to get maximum use from my art supplies. And you also know how much I love acrylic paints.

Both "regular" and fluid acrylics dry fast, sometimes too fast, particularly in arid climates with low humidity. (Just try using them for plein air work and you'll see what I mean.)

A few years ago, Golden Paints introduced a great new product line: Golden Open Acrylics. These acrylics handle just like regular acrylics but they stay wet much, much longer. Days longer, in many cases.

If I had a fairy godmother, I'd ask her to transform all my "regular" acrylics into Open Acrylics. But I don't have a fairy godmother. And if you're familiar with Golden's paints, you know they don't come cheap. But there IS a way to enjoy a longer working time without ditching your regular acrylics: just buy a bottle of Open Medium. Add a few drops of it to "regular" acrylics and -- glitter dust, please!!! -- you've got acrylic paints that stay workable significantly longer!

I haven't conducted scientific tests to determine exactly how much longer, but I can say using Open Medium has resulted in an extended working time I didn't have before. My palette is a piece of heavy 4 mil plastic so my paints are probably drying on it faster than they would on my Sta-Wet palette, but they're still considerably wetter an hour or two later than paints not amended with the medium. If I used the Sta-Wet, I bet they'd be viable forever. (I'm exaggerating, of course. But I suspect a month or two would not be unreasonable to expect.)

Open Medium has come in really handy for monoprinting with my Gelli Plate. It allows time to develop surface designs, making printing sessions more leisurely. It also makes blending colors a piece of cake, along with any number of other uses. For students just learning to paint with acrylics, it reduces the frustration many feel when their paints dry faster than they can be manipulated.

Open Medium is now an indispensable tool in my studio. If I were painting plein air I would not leave home without it.

By the way, I am in no way compensated by Golden nor do I have any business relationship with that company. I just happen to like their products!

Text and image ©2015 Lynn Edwards

It's Pouring!

Once in a while it's fun to try something that's waaay out of your creative comfort zone. Inspired by an article by Mary Beth Shaw in the latest issue of Somerset Studio, yesterday I decided to try my hand at pouring acrylics.

Oh wow! I think I'm hooked!

A closeup view of  one section of the painting.

Per Mary Beth's instructions to use a rigid substrate, I used a gessoed-and-sanded piece of MDF measuring roughly 8x8 inches. Although her instructions didn't call for it, I created a "wall" around the outside edges of the MDF with blue painter's tape to help contain the paint and medium.

After laying down a large piece of freezer paper to protect my work surface, I poured a good sized puddle of acrylic polymer medium gloss in the middle of the MDF panel. Next I placed a few drops of fluid acrylics and acrylic inks in various colors into the polymer medium. Then the fun began.

It's all in the moves......

By tilting and moving the panel in a circular fashion, the pigments suspended in the polymer medium started to shift and blend, as the medium began to slide around on the surface, kind of like a colorful, miniature tsunami. Pthalo Turquoise merged with Hansa Yellow, forming brilliant greens that whorled and swirled in a dazzling tapestry of patterns. Quinacridone Magenta encountered ripples of Hansa Yellow, producing a vivid melon color that reminded me of a sunset I saw once on Tybee Island. Cobalt Teal, Titanium White and Ultramarine Blue joined in, as the polymer medium carried them across the MDF in all directions, blending and combining them all into fascinating shapes and hues. Yowza!

Still very wet, this is how the painting looked when I called it quits for the day. I think there's too much green, so I'll let the whole thing dry, then I'll cover up some of the green by pouring another layer of contrasting colors over it. The "white" areas near the upper right- and left-hand corners are actually reflections on the ultra glossy surface.

 

When I finish the piece shown above, I'll post a photo of it here on the blog.

What I learned:

While creating this piece, I learned a few things:

1. Wear gloves. Or use a barrier lotion. (I failed to do either one and spent 30 minutes trying to get dried paint and medium off my hands and arms.) Pouring is unbelievably messy!!!

2. Test the viscosity of the gloss medium on a piece of scrap before applying it to your substrate.The first layer I poured was a little too thick. It didn't move as readily as it should have, so for the second layer I added a small amount of water to the polymer medium. That made all the difference.

3. Ensure your work table is dead level before you start pouring. This is a must. If you don't have a carpenter's level, a glass of water will suffice. Make needed adjustments by slipping scraps of matboard under the table legs.

4. Don't rush the process. Allow ample time for each layer to dry completely before proceeding further. In our humid climate, letting each layer dry overnight isn't too long.

5. Start small. Six by six, 8x10 and other small substrate sizes are ideal. Pouring is an acquired skill -- the learning curve is easier to master on a smaller scale. Failed paintings can be used, too.


Talk about having fun...pouring acrylics is pure joy. If you want to be entranced and amazed, I hope you'll grab some gloss medium and give it a try!

Text and images ©2014 Lynn Edwards